The Top Ten Rarest American Godzilla Comics

 

In 2026, there will have been 50 years of American Godzilla comics, which is hard to believe.  The list of unique titles is hovering at around 300 different ones as I type this (mostly because their publication has been kicked into ultra-overdrive in the last couple of years by a certain parent company).  Therefore, I thought it would be a good time to examine the very rarest & most obscure titles that exist.

This list will not look at variant covers, or we would be here all day.  Also, remember the old chestnut of "just because it's rare, doesn't mean it's super-valuable," although some of these are definitely exemptions to that rule.

Also, we will go in chronological order, because it makes better sense, since this isn't a price guide.  Don't forget as well that we have a complete guide to Godzilla comics maintained at this page, which is an ongoing, "living document" of a PDF that is a real pain to keep current these days.  But it's the only place on the entire Internet that all of this information is together.  

1) GODZILLA vs. MEGALON THEATRICAL COMIC (Cinema Shares International, 1976)

And what better place to start, than at the beginning? This 8.5 x 11 inch pulp comic was purchased by the thousands by participating theatre-owners and handed out at showings.  Not many were saved, though, and with the distinction of being the very first U.S. Godzilla comic, prices have skyrocketed over the last several years.  I hate that term "key," because everything becomes a "key," but this is the keyest key that there is.  You can see scans of the whole thing at our post here!

2) GODZILLA #1/#2/#3 [35-cent edition]

(Marvel, 1977)

Another first--the first variant covers, although it wasn't on purpose.  At the time that Marvel launched their incredibly-fun GODZILLA title, comic cover prices were about to be increased, from 30 to 35 cents.  As a test in certain areas, they went ahead and printed 35-cent versions of titles that were currently 30 cents everywhere else (the extremely-rare first issue of STAR WARS is a good example).  As a result, the first 3 issues of GODZILLA have 35-cent variants, and are all quite expensive.  Starting with #4's November 1977 issue, all titles were 35 cents.  If you are ever scrolling by auctions for the ubiquitous 1st issue, you might want to pause and double-check the cover price, because sometimes sellers might not know what they have!

3) DARK HORSE PREVIEW BOOK (Dark Horse, 1992)

Many collectors don't even know about this super-rare item that Dark Horse sent to retailers in 1992 (it's just a little bigger than 8.5 x 11 inches, because of the cover).  It contained 4-page, black-and-white previews of their current offerings, including Godzilla, although they had barely gotten off the ground with the big G.  You can see the relevant parts in this post!

4) SCREEN MONSTERS #4 [Trading Card Edition] 
(Zone Productions, 1993)

Here is another one that lots of people don't know about, and it came out simultaneously in two versions, the plain and the "Limited Trading Card Edition," which raised the price by four dollars and included a strip of four trading cards, making it a source for a rare Godzilla comic AND very rare Godzilla trading cards at the same time. You can see the cards at this post!

5) DARK HORSE INSIDER #42 (Dark Horse, June 1995)

Nobody thinks about it at the time, but these sorts of free, promotional comics that you can pick up at your local comic shop can later become quite scarce, because they are usually thrown away!

6) NEGATIVE BURN #18 (Caliber Press, Jan. 1995) / ART ADAMS' CREATURE FEATURES (Dark Horse TPB, Aug. 1996)

Flying under the radar, the NEGATIVE BURN issue includes a 4-page, black-and-white feature entitled "Trampling Tokyo," which features Adams illustrating lyrics written by Alan Moore! This feature was reprinted in full color in the CREATURE FEATURES trade paperback the following year (which includes more Godzilla content, too).

7) GODZILLA: THE IDW ERA (IDW, May 2014)

This cash-grab issue was meant to be a behind-the-scenes look at the prolific run that started in 2011, but sales were very poor, and most fans stayed away.  As such, if somebody figures this out someday, prices for this title will probably go up. 

8) SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP #22 (DC Comics, Mar. 2017)

The issue is a team-up with Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles, but the artists sneaked the Hanna-Barbera Godzilla into one big panel, along with two of the monsters from the Saturday morning GODZILLA cartoon! File under: "the most obscure Godzilla cameo of all time"?

9) LEGENDS OF THE MONSTERVERSE OMNIBUS (Legendary Comics, hardcover, 2024)

These are the sorts of things that fall through the cracks: this volume reprints all of the tie-in graphic novels for the various modern Kong and Godzilla movies, but it adds one new story found nowhere else, called "Godzilla: Fight Or Flight." 

10) GODZILLA vs. CTHULHU: A DEATH MAY DIE STORY (CMON Games/Guillotine Press, 2024)

Distributed only at San Diego Comic Con (in July of 2024), this full-sized comic was produced in very limited numbers, and buying the Godzilla miniature for the "Death May Die" game was the only way to get it.  I haven't even read it yet, as I just got my copy (which prompted this Top 10 list, by the way), but I do predict that going forward, this will remain one of the most valuable Godzilla comics, price-wise.

I hope you've enjoyed this look at the very rare, and in some cases, ridiculously obscure.  The growing list of Godzilla comics shows no signs of stopping, and it is currently being spammed hard: in this year alone, Toho is allowing Godzilla comics printed by IDW, Marvel, and DC, even all at the same time in some cases.....it is nuts.  If IDW was to finally go bankrupt, I would not be surprised at all to see Toho--who is diversifying quite a bit these days--just print their own.  Godzilla comics are not going anywhere!